Behavioral Laterality and Facial Hair Whorls in Horses Bell Eyles Alyvia Elliott

Introduction Hair whorls are a permanent form of identification for horses since birth Does not change in location or direction during a horse’s entire lifetime Hair whorls can either go clockwise or counterclockwise, horses can have more than one as well as on various parts of the body Horses should learn to be equally balanced on both sides so being able to learn which side they are most dominant on can help the rider teach their horse to become a better balanced athlete

Hypothesis To see whether the direction horse's hair whorl (clockwise or counterclockwise) could help us determine their more dominant side. Right-handed horses= clockwise whorls Left-handed horses= counterclockwise whorls

Materials Iphone for video, pictures, and timer Pen & Paper Pasture Umbrella 18 horses 14 geldings and 4 mares

Method Behavioral Laterality Test: Recorded the horses for 5 minutes Kept tallies of how long they were on the front foreleg (dominant leg) Kept track of how long they were on their dominant leg within those five minutes

Method Frightening Stimulus Test: Used an umbrella to make the frightening stimulus happen Approach the horse from the front (head of horse) so that we would have an accurate representation of which side they would naturally run off too. Depending on if they went left or right determined their dominant side

Pictures: Counterclockwise (Whimsy, Oliver, Cisco)

Pictures: Clockwise (Oreo, Champaign, Cassie)

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti2Ua9f1VAM Oreo: turns to the right, has clockwise whorl, left leg dominant stance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRId4mPwS3w Evie: turns to the right, has clockwise whorl, right leg dominant stance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaNVM3ZGILA Tyme: turns to the left, has counterclockwise whorl, left leg dominant stance

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Results Grazing stance: 6 out of 16 horses had the correct stance depending on the direction of their hair whorl 10 out of 16 horses had the incorrect stance (did not use Panda or Kona because they had more than 1 whorl) Proves that a person cannot determine a horse’s dominant side by their grazing stance or that the dominant leg is not the fore leg that is forward.

Results Frightening Stimulus: 11 out of 15 of the horses turned the correct way of their hair whorl 4 out of 15 of their horses turned the incorrect way of their hair whorl (did not include Zenith since he did not react) The results show that the frightening stimulus was more accurate when determining the horses more dominant side in correlation to their hair whorl, than just observing their grazing behavior.

Limitations Grazing Stance: Friendly horses Not hungry horses More research on the dominant leg of the horse Frightening Stimulus: Zenith did not react Number of trials Precise about approaching the horse

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Bridgewater Equestrian Center Staff for their cooperation and supply of horses for this study.

References Shivley, Chelsey. “Behavioral Laterality and Facial Hair Whorls in Horses…” Journal of Veterinary Science. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. Steward, Daniel. Ride Right with Daniel Stewart: Balance Your Frame and Frame of Mind with an Unmounted Workout and Sport Psychology System. North Pomfret, VT: Trafalgar Square Pub., 2004. Print. Oke, Stacey. “Link Between Facial Hair Whorls and Horse ‘Handedness’ Reported.” TheHorse.com. N.p., 23 June 2008. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. Randle, H.D., T.J. Webb, and L.J. Gill. "The Relationship Between Facial Hair Whorls And Temperament in Lundy Ponies." Rep. Lundy Field Soc. 52 (n.d.): 67-83. Web. Williams, Carey. “Basics of Equine Behavior—Extension.” Extension. N.p., 23 July 2008. Web. 27 Nov. 2008